Bulldogs sneak home against Eels

Match Summary
The Bulldogs have claimed a fightback 21-18 victory over the Eels in front of a bumper crowd of 18,285 at Parramatta Stadium this afternoon. The Eels led 16-12 at half time.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a try to Hazem El Masri. The Eels struck back only five minutes later, with Brett Finch setting up Daniel Wagon to score under the posts.

The Eels took the lead only three minutes later, with Finch scoring his own try. A Luke Burt penalty goal 13 minutes before half time took the Eels out to a 14-6 lead, and another goal ten minutes later put the Eels up 16-6.

Astonishingly, the Bulldogs struck back as time expired in the first half, Trent Cutler pouncing on a desperation kick.

The Eels stretched their lead back to six points after the Bulldogs gave away a penalty for obstruction.

A Willie Mason try just short of an hour levelled the game up at 18-all.

In a frenetic final 10 minutes, the Eels had an opportunity to take the lead through a field goal, but poor play left Tim Smith in a poor position to make the attempt, and the cross field kick he elected to take led to an Eels knock on.

With six minutes to go, Daniel Holdsworth won the Bulldogs the game with a calmly slotted field goal. A Hazem El Masri penalty taken to soak up time near the end of the game gave the final score of 21-18.